Prequel
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Summary: This story takes place about two years before the start of the Astro Boy canon. This story is my own head canon of what happened in the life of Tobio Tenma before he died and became Astro Boy. I hope all you Tobio fans will like this story! I don't think this has been done before, Please leave Reviews! Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

**Prequel**

_Note: Astro Boy is the property of Tezuka Productions._

**Part One**

**Tamao** **Ume **road his new ten speed bicycle through the unfamiliar neighborhood. He was just a little too short for the racing bike; even with the seat, handlebars and pedals adjusted all the way inward to accommodate his diminutive height. He managed to remain in control of the machine, but he felt unsure of himself. The seven year old had just received the new bicycle as a present for his birthday the week before, and he couldn't be kept off of it ever since. This was the furthest he'd ridden from home thus far, and he was very proud of the 'big boy' bicycle.

Tamao didn't see the broken bottle in the road before it was too late. He swerved to try and avoid hitting it, least he puncture a tire. His front wheel did manage to avoid the danger, but his rear wheel ran over the glass shards and popped with soft "BLAT". Tamao lost his balance and the machine fell out from under him. Both rider and bicycle now lay in a heap in front of a fancy two story house with a wide porch. The fall bent the rim of the rear wheel, and Tamao now sported a bruised left knee.

Sitting on the front porch were two siblings busily engaged in a game of Chinese checkers. The boy looked to be about Tamao's age, the girl perhaps two years younger. The brother had dark brown hair which was combed in an unruly fashion. He had one large lock of hair hanging over his forehead, and two other locks sticking out at odd angles. His sister's hair was also dark auburn in color, with two bangs sticking up, and a lock hanging down as well. The boy looked up and saw Tamao trying to get up from his undignified position on the ground.

"Do you need some help?" he asked, getting up from his seat and walking down the path from the house toward the street.

"Yeah, I guess so." Tamao sighed. "I'm still getting used to this new bicycle, and now look what I've done to it. My dad will kill me!"

The boy took a quick scan of the machine and smiled. "No problem, I can fix it for you. Oh, by the way, my name is Tobio, and that is my sister, Urania."

"Thanks, Tobio. My name is Tamao." he said, adjusting his glasses and baseball cap.

Tobio ran into the house and returned with a small tool kit, and a hand operated air pump.  
"My dad is a genius scientist who builds robots and stuff. He got me my own tool kit, and I can fix anything!" Tobio bragged.

Tobio quickly removed the rear wheel from the bicycle. He pried the tire off of the wheel and removed the punctured tube. Tobio then pumped some air into the tube until he heard the telltale sound of air hissing from it and located the damaged site.  
"I've got a patch kit, and the tube and tire aren't too badly torn." He said. "I can fix it good enough for you to get home at least."

"Aw, you've got a boo boo on your knee." Urania cried. "Let me get you a band aid and some onkment!"  
She ran into the house and quickly returned with a first aid kit. Urania squirted some first aid cream onto her finger and rubbed it over Tamao's knee. She then put an over sized bandage on it.  
"Don't I make a good nurse?" she asked.

"Thanks!" Tamao said. "That feels better."

Tobio quickly patched the tube and reassembled the tire. He pumped it up until it was rock hard to the touch, and mounted it back on the bicycle. Tobio then pulled a pair of pliers from his tool set and readjusted all of the spokes on the wheel until it ran true without any wobble.

"Gee thanks!, you're really a good mechanic." Tamao gleamed.

"Thank you, and you you're very welcome!" Tobio smiled.

Urania hugged her brother. "Isn't my big brother the greatest!" she giggled. "Hey, how about being a third for Chinese checkers?"

"Sure, why not?" Tamao said. He wheeled his bicycle up the path and took an empty seat on the porch by the table where the game was set up.

"Want to see my robot design drawings?" Tobio asked his new friend. "I'm going to be a famous robot scientist just like my father some day."

"Sure!" Tamao said. He followed Tobio into the house while Urania started to set up the checker board for three players.

"Here, what do you think?" Tobio said proudly handing his artwork to Tamao.  
Tobio had drawn several large monster robots that looked like they were over ten feet tall. One of them sported huge horns sticking up over its head that made it look even bigger. He also drew a smaller robot that was about his size. He drew it flying across the page, powered by rockets in its arms and legs.

"Wow, I like that little one the best!" Tamao said.

"I designed him to look a bit like myself." Tobio said. "He has all sorts of secret tricks built in, like machine guns in his rear, lasers in his fingers, and he is as strong as Superman!" I call him Atom.

"Nice!" Tomao said.

"Hey you guys, come out here. The checker board is all setup now!" Urania yelled.

The two boys came back out to the porch and sat down at the table. After playing a few rounds of checkers with his new friends, Tamao realized it was getting late and that he needed to get home.  
"Sorry guys, my parents will get worried if I don't get home soon", He said.

"Sure, Tamao. Nice meeting you, stop by anytime!" Tobio replied.

"Bye!" Urania cooed.

Tamao hopped on his bicycle and road off just as a brand new automobile pulled into the driveway.  
"Hello Son!" smiled the car's driver as he stepped out.

"Hi Dad!" both siblings cried in stereo.

"Tobio ran up to give his dad a hug, and Urania just blew him a kiss.

The man was over six feet tall, thin, and well dressed. He had a bushy head of hair and an equally curly beard. He sported a prominent roman nose, and dark piercing eyes. Dr. Tenma, was the current head of the Institute of Science, and a leading robot engineer. Father and sun walked hand in hand into the house, and Urania followed.

"About time you got home, Uma!" Hoshie Tenma huffed. "You're a half hour late, and dinner has been ready for some time now!"

"Sorry dear. I had to approve the final plans for the new 'Peace Keeper' project."

"All you ever think about are your dumb robots!" Hoshie yelled. "Why don't you pay some attention to your daughter? Whenever you are home, you spend some of your valuable time with your son, but poor Urania here always gets left out. If it weren't for me, she'd be an orphan! I swear, one of these days, I'm going to leave you with Tobio and run away with my dear Urania!"

* * *

**The next weekend, **Kenichi Shikisima was flying his new R/C plane in the park. He had been learning how to control the model plane, but was still a bit lacking in his skills as an R/C pilot. The plane kept banking left, as Kenichi tried to bring it in for a landing. If flew just over Tamao's head and bounced off of a tree snapping off a part of the left wing. Tamao jumped off his bicycle and picked up the remains of the aircraft. He saw the boy with R/C transmitter running toward him.

"Gee, I'm sorry!" Kenichi said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's OK, it missed me by a good margin." Tamao said. "Here is what's left of the plane. By the way, my name is Tamao." Tamao handed the broken model back to its owner.

"Hi, I'm Kenichi. Boy, I spent a whole week building that plane, and now I have to fix it. I'm not sure I can ever get it to fly straight and level." He sighed.

Tamao thought about his new acquaintance, Tobio, and the kid's tool set. "Hey, I know someone who might be able to fix it up."

Kenichi packed up his R/C equipment and put it into the saddle bags on his bicycle. The two boys then hopped on their machines and Kenichi followed Tamao over to Tobio's house. Tobio was lying on the patio floor, drawing. He looked up as the two boys arrived.

"Hi, Tamao! Who's your friend?" He asked.

"My name is Kenichi. Tamao said you might be able to fix my R/C plane." Kenichi held out his hand in greeting.

"Sure, let's see it!" Tobio said.

Kenichi took the broken aircraft from his saddle bag and handed it to Tobio. The brown haired boy ran into the house, and soon returned with a box full of stuff. He looked at the broken plane and tried to fit the pieces together. There were some ragged edges where some bits of balsa wood were missing, and Tobio carefully cut some new bits from pieces of wood he found in his supply box. Soon Kenichi's airplane was pinned to the floor of the patio. It had been pieced back together and the newly glued joints were setting.

"The epoxy will take about an hour to cure fully, then you can try to fly it. I think your wing spar was warped, I reset that straight. The plane should fly good now." Tobio said.

Kenichi had been watching Tobio work on the model. "Wow, you are sure handy! How did you learn to do stuff like that?" Kenichi asked.

"I watch my dad work in his lab sometimes. He's a robot scientist." Tobio said proudly.

"Hey where is your sister today?" Tamao asked.

"My mom took her shopping for some new clothes for school" Tobio said. "I'm here by myself till my dad gets back. He had to run into work for a few hours."

"Gee, that sucks." Kenichi said.

"Want to play some checkers?" Tobio asked.

"Sure" Kenichi said. Tamao nodded his head in agreement.

Tobio set up the Chinese checker board for a three way, and the friends played a few games. Dr. Tenma's car pulled into the driveway, and Tobio's dad walked up to the porch.

"Hi son! Sorry I had to leave you alone for a few hours. We had a small emergency over at the IOS that couldn't wait till Monday."

"That's OK dad. Hey, meet my new friends, Tamao and Kenichi."

Dr. Tenma waved hello at the boys as he entered the house. He had to carefully step over Kenichi's plane that was still pinned down to the floor, with the glue curing. After a few minutes, Uma Tenma returned. He had a funny look on his face, and shook it off.  
"Hey, can I join in with you guys playing checkers?" he asked.

"Sure, Dad. Pull up a chair!" Tobio smiled.

The four of them played checkers for a few hours until Tamao and Kenichi had to leave. By that time the glue on Kenichi's plane was set up solid, and Tobio carefully pulled out the pins and handed the aircraft back to his new friend. The two boys left on their bicycles and father and son sat together on the porch. Uma pulled Tobio close to him and gave his son a hug.

"Want to go out for dinner, Tobio?" His father asked.

"Sure, but what about Mom and Urania?" Tobio asked.

"I guess they will be staying at the mall until it closes and will eat at the food court. Why don't we go to a restaurant together, just the two of us. Your choice."

"Can we have Sushi?" Tobio asked.

"Certainly." His father said.

* * *

**They sat** at a table in Tobio's favorite Sushi restaurant. The boy nervously eyed a strange man who sat at a table on the other side of the restaurant. He wore a dark cloak and a ribbon tie. He had a large scar on his face, and part of his skin was discolored. Sitting next to him was a girl about Tobio's age, with four bows in her hair.  
"Don't stare at people!" Tenma said. "It isn't polite!"

They placed their orders with the waitress.  
"It will be ready in about 20 minutes." She said. "We are a bit busy tonight."

Dr. Tenma looked his son in the face and waited till he had the boy's attention.

"Tobio, I need to tell you something. You know that your mother and I have had our little arguments."

"You mean fights don't you?" Tobio said.

"I guess it sometimes looked that way." His father sighed. "Anyway, she left me a note in our bedroom that I saw when I came home from work today. I know she told you that she was going shopping with your sister. Actually, she ran away from home today. Your mother had been threatening me that she would leave us, and take your sister with her. Today, it appears that she made good on that threat. I guess it's just the two of us now, Tobio. I'm sorry. I know you loved Urania."

Tobio didn't digest the information right away.  
"What do you mean dad? When are Mom and Urania coming back?"

"Never. Your mother told me she couldn't live with us anymore. She told me that I was not a good father to your sister. She also said she knew that I cared about you, and that you would want to stay with me. So she took your sister and left. I don't know where she could have gone. I'm sorry, I guess it might be my fault." Uma sighed, resting his face in his hands, covering his eyes.

Tobio slowly started to cry. "Mom! Damn you Mommy!"

The food arrived, father and son slowly ate in silence. Uma paid the check, leaving a good sized tip. The two of them walked home arm in arm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Prequel**

_Note: Astro Boy is the property of Tezuka Productions._

**Part Two**

**Dr. Tenma** woke up early the next day and made a few phone calls. He then walked into Tobio's room, to find the boy awake, but still in bed. Tobio sat up with a book in his lap. It was a large book, with his name printed on the cover. The boy's eyes were red, and a box of tissues sat next to him, with a pile of used ones in the trashcan by his bed, and some on the floor.  
"What's that, son?" Uma asked.

"That's the diary-scrap book that Mom got me for my birthday a while ago." Tobio's started to sob. "It was the last thing that Mommy ever gave me." Tobio sniffled, then grabbed another tissue to blow his nose.

"Can I see it?" Uma asked.

"Sure Dad" Tobio sighed.

Dr. Tenma picked up the book. The cover was custom printed with Tobio's name on it. Inside were blank lined pages that he could write down his thoughts on, and blank unlined pages for drawings. On the first page Tobio had written about all of the presents that he had got for his seventh birthday, including the book and a tool kit from his father. He had drawn several pictures of robots that he was designing too.  
"Wow, I like these robot designs, Tobio." His father said.

Tobio moved closer to his dad and pointed to the the drawing.  
"Yeah, that big one with the huge horns on the top of his head is called Pluto. He thinks he's the greatest robot in the world, but he really isn't, even though he is so big and powerful," the boy explained.

"What about this little guy, the one that kinda looks like you?" Tenma asked.

"He's my favorite. I made him look like me because sometimes I think I'd like to be a robot. I call him Atom, cause he's small for a robot. Atom can fly with rocket/jet engines in his arms and legs, and he is really strong even though he's just my size. He can rip a skyscraper in half and lift it into the air! He also has some secret weapons, like machine guns in his back and lasers in his fingers." Tobio explained.

"Sounds like something I'm designing, actually." His father laughed.

Uma turned the pages and read the most recent entries.

_Today I met a new friend by accident. Tamao got a flat tire on his bicycle in front of my house and I fixed it for him. We played checkers and had a good time._

The last entry was a little smudged. The page had gotten wet and the ink had run a little.

_Today wasn't such a good day, but it started OK. I met another new friend when Tamao brought Kenichi over with a broken RC airplane that I fixed it up for him. Then my dad came home and all four of us played checkers._

_Dad and I went out to have sushi for dinner, but I found out that my mom ran away with my sister. Dad said we might never see them ever again! I feel so sad, I'm gonna miss Mommy and Urania._

Dr. Tenma closed the book. "You were crying when you wrote that, weren't you Tobio?"

"Yes. I think I cried myself to sleep. I used up a whole box of tissues!"

"I'm sorry son. Look, I just got off the phone with a detective who thinks he might be able to find your mother and sister. That's what this guy does, he locates missing spouses; that is, husbands and wives who run away or are missing. He said he will come over this morning, so I'm not going into work until we talk to him. I don't want to leave you along at home, so until school starts I want you to come to work with me. OK son?" Uma said.

"OK dad," Tobio sniffled.

* * *

**Shunsuke Ban** was a about a head shorter than Dr. Tenma. He was mostly bald, and sported a huge white mustache.  
"As I told you on the phone, I'm a part time teacher in the city public school system, but I still do detective work on the side. Years ago, that was my primary occupation. You know I do have Samurai blood in me. I also served in the army. I usually go by the nickname 'Mustachio'."

"OK then Mr. Mustachio," Tenma said. "He are photos of my wife and daughter. She ran off sometime yesterday afternoon. Hoshie had been threatening to do that for several months now. I'd been working late and she couldn't stand it. My son really misses his sister and mother, I hope you can find them."

Tobio stood in the doorway and looked over the short, slightly stout man. He seemed likable enough.

"Hello?" Tobio said slowly.

"Hi son!" Mustachio. "You go to the elementary school in this neighborhood?"

"Yes"

"Well then you might have seen me, I'm also a teacher there when I'm not a detective"

"I think my new friend Kenichi might have mentioned your name." Tobio said.

Shunsuke Ban pocketed the two photos and put his hat back on his head. He started for the door and called back. "I'll let you know if I find anything. With any luck I can at least find out where she headed off to."

"Thank you, please do keep in touch." Tenma said.

Tobio just waved as the funny looking man left the house and jumped into a sub compact car and drove off.

* * *

**Tobio** was still dressed in his favorite pajamas. They were made of soft fuzzy cotton and had built in slippers attached to the feet. The top had a hood with cat like 'ears' on top.

"Go get dressed son, and you'll come in to work with me. There is something I need for you to help me pick out for you." Uma said.

"OK dad." Tobio sighed. He ran upstairs to his room to change into street clothes. Soon the boy came back downstairs. He had put on a pair of short pants, red high top sneakers and a plain tee shirt. He held a baseball cap in his hands and put it on his head.

"Did you have any breakfast yet?" His father asked.

"No, I guess I've been too sad to eat." Tobio sighed.

"OK then, I'm going to make us some scrambled eggs. While I'm doing that, go back and comb your hair, it's a mess." Tenma said.

Tobio sulked back upstairs to the bathroom. He took off the baseball cap and sat it on the closed lid of the toilet. He looked in the mirror, his hair stuck up in all directions. Tobio grabbed his comb and hair brush and tried to make some order of the mess that his hair was, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. "_Now what did Mom use on my hair when she fixed it for me?_" he wondered. Tobio looked in the cabinet under the sink and found a familiar jar with some green goo in in. He could read the label, _Hair Gel. "I guess this stuff"_ he thought. Tobio opened the jar and scooped out a rather large handful of the product and rubbed it into his hair. He then again tried to use the comb and brush to make some order out of the chaos growing on the top of his head. Except for two large tufts of hair that insisted on sticking out at odd angles, everything was now glued down nicely. He combed the two offending areas into orderly spikes and left it at that. Tobio put his baseball cap back on his head and headed back downstairs.

By this time, Dr. Tenma had finished cooking up two omelette's and had the plates sitting on the table. Tenma took one look at his son's head and shrugged his shoulders. "Sit down and eat your eggs." he said. Tobio took his seat and Uma joined him across the table. Father and son ate breakfast in silence.

* * *

**It was actually** Tobio's very first visit to the Institute of Science. Dr. Tenma had never taken his son or daughter to see where he worked. Tobio was so fascinated by all the robots he saw, that he forgot his sorrows and actually smiled a little. Dr. Tenma showed his son the laboratory where he worked, and the boy saw some prototype robots under development.

"Most of the robots that you see here were designed to perform a specific function. While many of them look a little bit like people, not all robots are androids." Tenma explained to his son.

"What's an Android?" Tobio asked.

"The word Android refers to a robot built in humanoid form. All Androids are Robots, but not all Robots are Androids, get it?" his father said.

"I guess so. So all the robots I've always drawn are really Androids. Our automatic vacuum cleaner at home is a robot." the boy said.

"Yes, exactly." his father replied. "I'm working on an advanced robot that will think and act just like a person. It will be capable of original thought because it will have kokoro. So far, I haven't had too much success."

Tobio looked at the large robot in the laboratory. It was about his father's height, but had much broader shoulders and a fatter body. "Why is it so big?" he asked.

"That just makes it easier to build. Miniaturizing parts is expensive and takes much longer." Dr. Tenma explained.

"Why don't you build a robot like my Atom design?" Tobio asked.

"Hmm, a child robot?" His father thought. "The AI for that would be much simpler. A child mind would be able to discover much for itself, instead of having to program that in to the AI ahead of time. The algorithms to do that are already defined by Kutcher's theorems. Out of the mouths of babes..."

"What do you mean Dad?" Tobio questioned.

"I mean, that you have given me an excellent idea! Can you draw me a picture of your Atom robot, Tobio?" Tenma said, handing his son a piece of drafting paper and a mechanical pencil.

"Sure!" the boy said, as he started to draw.

Tenma took his son's completed sketch and studied it for a moment. He wrote some notes on the drawing and rolled the paper up.  
"Come with me, son. I have another job for you."

Tenma waked up to one of his engineers and handed him the drawing.  
"Bill, can you work up a rough set of plans based on this drawing? I want to design a new android based on the Mark 1 in the other lab, but smaller and in this general format."

The engineer took the drawing and glanced at it.  
"No problem, Dr. Tenma. I'll start on the CAD work at once."

"Tobio, I'm going to use your sketch as the basis for a child sized robot to test my kokoro AI theory. It won't be a super robot like your Atom design, but it will have some advanced mechanics." Tobio's father said.

"Well then we won't be able to call it Atom, that name is for my super duper robot that can fly. We will have to come up with another name for it." Tobio said.

"I'll leave that problem to you," Uma said. "Now, let's go to another part of the building where I want you to pick out a robot for yourself."

* * *

"**This is where we manufacture **domestic servant robots." Dr. Tenma explained to his son. "Once school starts you will be coming home to an empty house because I will need to work here, and you will have homework to do, at home. With your mother gone, I thought we would get a nanny robot to take care of the house."

"I don't want a robot to replace Mommy!" Tobio cried.

"Neither do I" Tenma told his son. "But I do want a robot that will clean the house, cook meals for you, and be there for you in case of emergencies while I am at work. Does that make any sense to you?"

"Yes, I guess so." Tobio said.

"Look son, a robot can't replace a person, but it can do the work of a person. Someday, a robot built with my kokoro AI could become a friend and companion because it will think and act just like a human. The nanny 'bot I'm going to get won't be able to do that, but you will get used to having it around the house."

"OK, dad. I guess."

Dr. Tenma opened a 3D terminal and they looked at the available models of robots manufactured by the IOS for domestic use. Tobio picked out a simple, but capable model that his father also approved of. It was a very robot looking android that moved on a hover platform which gave it the ability to climb stairs, even though it didn't have legs. It had a cylindrical body, an ovoid head with two eye cameras, and two very agile arms and hands.

"Can I pick out a name for her?" Tobio asked.

"Sure, but how do you know that it is a she?"

"Well, if it isn't I don't want it!" Tobio pouted.

"OK then, it can be female. What name do you want to give her?"

"Let's call her Nora." Tobio said.

"OK then, Nora she is." Dr. Tenma replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Prequel**

___Note: Astro Boy is the property of Tezuka Productions._

**Part Three**

_**Shunsuke Ban**_ met Dr. Tenma in the lobby of the IOS main building. He had a Nikon DSLR with a huge zoom lens attached hanging on a wide strap slung over his neck.  
"I've been on a wild goose chase for a few days now. I did an extensive Internet search and I couldn't find any trace of your wife of daughter. It doesn't seem like they have left town, unless she stole a car and drove it herself. Any purchase of train, bus, or airline tickets would be traceable, and I searched under her married and maiden names. I also hacked into the region wide surveillance camera networks and didn't find a single photo of her, but that was a long shot. So I employed the help of a few school teachers I know. They got their students looking, and a finally did catch a few glances of her with your daughter in a public park. She takes the kid there once in a while to play."

Mustachio handed Tenma a few blurry photo prints.  
"Sorry about the poor quality, they were taken at extreme distance with a hand held telephoto lens."

Tenma looked at the pictures without showing any emotion.  
"Does she show up there often?"

"No, not always at the same park. My spy network has spotted her at several different parks in one region of the district. I suspect she is supporting herself doing odd jobs and is moving about looking for work. She must have really hated you to run away like that, because she doesn't appear to be having an easy time alone by herself. If I were you, I'd hire a lawyer and try to get an injunction to obtain legal custody of your daughter. Once I can locate her, I could do a snatch and grab on the kid, but I'd rather have the law on my side first." The detective said.

"I'll take care of that right away." Dr. Tenma said.

* * *

**Tobio **admired the robot that was taking shape in the laboratory. It resembled his Atom drawing somewhat, but was a bit different too. The robot's hair had two thin cowlick spikes that stuck straight up, rather than the larger ones in his drawing that were at 11 and 4 o'clock on his head, just like his own cowlicks. The robot's face was also a bit less round, with a slightly larger nose. Tobio had suggested making some of the changes, while they were also leaving out some of the 'super duper' stuff that he had imagined. Still, it would be a strong robot with lots of horse power. It wouldn't be able to fly, but it would be able to do lots of other cool stuff.

"What color are his eyes, dad?" Tobio asked.

"Didn't you specify blue?" His father asked.

"No, I wanted him to have brown eyes like me!" Tobio said.

"Well, I can always change that, I suppose." Tenma said.

"No, leave them blue." Tobio said. "I like blue too."

"OK then. Have you thought of a name for him?" His father asked.

"Let's call him Cobalt." Tobio replied. "The name goes with the eye color."

"Alright, I'll program that name into his AI."

"When will he be finished?" Tobio asked.

"I've got quite a few other projects to work on besides Cobalt, and you are starting school in a week. Maybe I can have him ready by the time you go on mid semester break."

"Aw, that long?" Tobio sighed.

"I'm sorry son. My priorities have shifted here. I'm disappointed too, because I've been working on the kokoro idea for so long. But the IOS just signed an important military contract, and I have to work on that. It's a good thing we got you Nora, because I may have to work late now too." Uma said.

* * *

**Tobio's **first day of school in the second grade went well enough. He woke up early and laid out his school clothes on the bed. He then showered and dressed himself. Tobio looked in the mirror and saw that his two unruly cowlicks of hair were their usual mess, so he found the jar of styling gel and combed some of it into them. The cowlicks still stuck out, but at least they were now in two orderly groups. The boy grabbed his jacket and ran downstairs. Nora had prepared him a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, which Tobio wolfed down as he saw his father was already waiting for him by the front door. As he left the kitchen to leave the house, Nora handed him a lunch box. Tobio thanked her and left the house with his father.

Dr. Tenma drove his son to school and gave him a hug before the boy entered the school building. Tobio met his new friends Kenichi and Tamao, and made a few other new friends as well. He liked his teacher, and had a good time. During lunch he had the tea over rice that Nora had prepared for him. He poured some of the hot green tea from his thermos bottle over the rice and toppings, and used a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks to eat from the plastic container.

Tobio had hoped to see his father waiting for him at the school gate, but he wasn't surprised by his absence, and he took the school bus home. Nora prepared some steamed fish for dinner, not Tobio's favorite, but it tasted rather good anyway. He did his homework and then played some of his video games. Tobio brushed his teeth and got ready for bed.

His dad had promised he'd be home by dinner time, however it was now 9:30 and he was still working late at the Institute. Tobio really wanted to see his dad, and at least have him tuck him in bed and say goodnight. He sat upright in bed writing about his day in his journal. Outside he could hear the constant patter of rain on the window sill. He then heard the sound of a car approaching and hoped it was his father. Tobio ran downstairs in his pajamas and opened the front door. He grabbed an umbrella and walked outside in the rain to the street. It was a bit windy outside, but the eared hood on his PJ's keep him warm. He stood there for a few minutes under the umbrella watching for his father's car. He heard Nora's voice calling him. The Nanny robot, glided to the street and stood by Tobio.

"Master Tobio-kun, it's past your bedtime. Dr. Tenma will be mad at me if I let you stand out in the rain all night."

"OK, Nora, I'll come in." Tobio sighed.

He walked back into the house, and Nora closed the front door. Tobio put the umbrella back into the stand by the door and walked upstairs to bed. It took him a long time to fall asleep.

* * *

**Tobio didn't **see his dad again until the weekend, he took the bus to school every day as Dr. Tenma had to leave early before his son was even awake. The boy got up Saturday morning and trudged down the stairs to the kitchen to find Dr. Tenma sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.  
"DAD!" he yelled and launched himself into his fathers lap. Tenma's newspaper was ripped from his hands by the body of the happy child who proceeded to bear hug the man.

"I'm glad to see you too, son!" Uma said. "But please give me a little warning next time!"

Tobio spent the next half hour telling his father about school, his new friends, and how much he missed him. He also asked about his robot Cobalt, and then changed the subject to a sadder note.

"Are Mom and Urania still missing?" he sobbed.

"I've heard from the detective, and found out that they were spotted. I've also talked to an attorney about your sister. Maybe, if we are lucky Urania might come back and live with us." His father said.

Tobio wasn't sure he understood what an attorney was, but he took some hope from his father's words.

* * *

**Urania** was quite the artist. She held the sidewalk chalk in her hand like a pencil with a delicate grip. First she sharpened the end against the rougher part of the pavement, and then using the point she had created in the stick, carefully drew on the smooth asphalt floor of the playground. The child squatted on the asphalt being careful to keep her dress from rubbing in the dirt. The dress was patched in a few places, and it was a loose fit on her. It was obvious that some care had been taken to adjust the fit of the hand me down garment on the growing girl.

Urania had a good memory for someone of her tender age, and she carefully sketched out the image of the brother that she sorely missed. She had enough different colors of chalk to capture Tobio's auburn hair, brown eyes, and his favorite red boots. She drew herself next to him, and correctly colored her own eyes blue and her hair a much lighter shade of brown.  
Hoshie saw what her daughter was doing and yanked her away before she could finish the drawing.  
"Come on dear, we have to be going. Pick up your chalk and come along!"

"Aw mom! I'm not finished with Tobio!" she cried.

Mother and daughter walked back to the apartment flop hand in had. Urania tried to pull away from her mother a few times, but Hoshie's grip was strong.

**Hoshie **finally found a decent job not far from one of the district public schools. She also found a good place to stay, after having been moving around and living from hand to mouth. She then registered Urania for Kindergarten, and she hoped that meeting other children would take her mind off of her brother. The one fear that she did have was of being found by Uma or his detective, so she had started using a false name. She went by her mother's maiden name, which was something she had never told Uma. It had been hard to convince Urania about the name change, but the five year old accepted being called Urania Yangasawa.

* * *

******Shunsuke Ban **spotted Hoshie and Urania twice more in the following week. The legal injunction that Tenma had his attorney file for had not yet been approved, but it was now pending court action. Inspector Tawashi of the police had promised that he would put out an arrest and detain order on Hoshie as soon as the injunction papers were signed by a judge. That would give them the many eyes of the police to help look for her and the child. Meanwhile, the detective frequented the many small parks in the district hoping to catch a glimpse of the missing pair.

* * *

**The next week** was mostly a repeat of the first for Tobio. He saw his dad leaving the house in the morning as he woke up. If Tobio got out of bed quickly enough he was able to catch Dr. Tenma at the door before he left and give him a hug. His father rarely made it home before the boy's bedtime, and after school Tobio had only Nora for company.

Tobio had a stomach ache that Wednesday night and he climbed out of bed and crawled downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. It was nearly midnight, and Dr. Tenma was sitting at the kitchen table reading the mail.  
"Tobio! Why aren't you asleep?" Uma Tenma asked his son.

"My stomach hurts, and I'm thirsty." The boy said. "When did you get home dad?"

"Actually, just a few minutes ago." His father replied. Uma got up and poured his son a glass of cold water from the refrigerator. He also got him a spoonful of syrup to settle his stomach.

Tobio stood by the table and looked at the pile of mail. There was a large envelope that had been opened and several photographs had been removed from it. The one on top of the pile was of a chalk drawing.  
"That looks like Urania and me!" Tobio cried out.

Uma gave Tobio the syrup and handed him the glass of cold water.  
"The detective mailed me some more photos that he took. That one that you just spotted was taken in a park where your mother and sister had been. That probably is Urania's chalk drawing on the sidewalk. We know where they've been and I should have the legal papers signed by a judge soon for your sister's custody. Things are looking up a bit."

Tobio finished the glass of water and smiled.  
"I'll see Urania again?" he asked.

"I can't promise anything son. But I hope so."

Uma carried the boy up the stairs and tucked him back into bed.  
"Good night son. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night dad." Tobio replied.


	4. Chapter 4

**Prequel**

_Note: Astro Boy is the property of Tezuka Productions._

**Part Four**

**Dr. Tenma **received official notification that the legal injunction he had requested had been signed by the district judge. The paperwork had been mailed by a registered courier, and he expected to have it in hand within a day or two. With the legal standing now on his side, Tenma notified the detective that he would be in the clear to take whatever action he deemed necessary to obtain physical custody of his daughter.

With the order now in place it also meant that Inspector Tawashi was able to post Urania's picture on the city's computer system so that it would generate an alert if any of the government surveillance cameras, or any of the private ones connected to the city's grid, caught her image. Then any available police officer would be able to take custody of the child. However this case only ranked just above auto traffic enforcement in priority, so it might take awhile for the police to actually do anything. The odds were a lot better that the private detective would have better luck.

* * *

**The demands** of the government contract that the Institute of Science had committed itself to were taking their toll on Uma Tenma. He often arrived at his office before the sun had rose, and rarely came home much before midnight. He sometimes put in a few hours over the weekend, and Tobio saw less and less of his father. All too often the good doctor never did make it home, he'd fall asleep in his office or laboratory, too exhausted to make the trip home. However, he had just interviewed several candidates for a few engineering positions, and he hoped that he would soon have some relief.

Every night, Tobio tried to stay up long enough to see his father come home, but it would always be quite late by the time Dr. Tenma quietly entered the house, if he came home at all. The routine was the same every night. There was a large toy chest right in front of the picture window in Tobio's bedroom with a padded lid that served as a seat. Every night Tobio would sit on that cushion and stare out the window, waiting for his father's car to pull into the driveway.

On one wall of the room was the boy's bed, a large poster bed with a queen sized mattress. There were two drawers under the bed and two chests of drawers against the wall on the opposite side of the room from his bed. Between both of these, was a desk with a computer where he did his homework for school. Hanging on the wall, over the desk, were three photographs. One was a family portrait taken just a few months ago, with his father, mother, sister, and himself. There was another picture of just he and Urania, and another of his father and mother together. Tobio turned his head from looking out the window and glanced at the pictures, and started to cry. Nora glided into the room and saw he was in a somber mood, again.

Nora was a good robot, she was sympathetic, actually almost empathetic in her relationship with the boy, but she still fell short of being a replacement for a parent. The Nanny robot had a soft voice that sounded almost human, though there was a small bit of electronic overtone in it.  
"Staying up past your bedtime again, Tobio-chan?" she always asked. "Please goto sleep, you have school again tomorrow."

Tobio would sigh and leave his perch at the window. He'd put his pajamas on and brush his teeth. He'd get into bed and Nora would tuck up the covers and sing him a lullaby.  
"Good night Nora." Tobio would say. He'd sometimes cry himself to sleep, and Nora would stay quietly in the room by the door until the boy was in slumber.

**Shunsuku Ban** had come up with the idea of staking out each of the elementary schools in the district to try and catch sight of Hoshie and Urania. He knew that the child was of age to start kindergarten, if Hoshie hadn't left the city she'd have to enroll the kid in school somewhere. He tried searching on line, but he knew that she'd be using a different name. The kind of stake out that he resorted to would take time, but eventually it would yield results. He photographed every student that entered each school, and he repeated the task several times for each one.

It took him several weeks, but he finally found her. Mustachio stood watch at the Tezuka Elementary School for a week, he observed Hoshie and Urania coming and going there each day like clockwork. She had changed her appearance, having cut her hair shorter and dying it blond. She also wore dark glasses and a scarf to obscure her face, but he still recognized her. Urania's hair had also been cut short, the poor child must have pitched a fit having her beautiful bangs cut off. The poor kid almost looked like a boy the way she was now dressed, as well.

The detective now considered how he could best make the snatch and grab to return Urania to her father. The obvious solution came to him rather quickly. Mustachio was a part time teacher in the Metro City school system, as well as a detective. Having a suitable ID card as a teacher gave him the ability to run a stake out inside the Tezuka Elementary School, to lie in wait for the Urania. He had figured that under the disguise as a teacher, which wasn't really a disguise at all, he would be able to intercept the girl and get her back to her father. What he hadn't figured on was the now extreme paranoia of the child's mother.

******If Hoshie** had had the resources, she would have left the district, maybe even the country, to get away from her husband. Eventually, when she had saved up enough, that's exactly what she decided that she would do. Getting a job and setting up a household by herself had been much more difficult than she had ever imagined. Those were things she should have done before leaving Uma, but she just couldn't stand living with him anymore.

Hoshie was becoming paranoid, and she kept looking over her shoulders. She knew that having to enroll Urania in school made her an easy target for Uma's detective. She thought that she had spotted someone with a camera outside the school several times. Now she was certain of it. She started to imagine what could happen, and she realized that eventually Uma would try and get his daughter back. Hoshie was determined that would never happen. Urania was her child, and she knew she couldn't live without her. Hoshie started carrying a sharp hunting knife in her purse for self defense, or worse. Everywhere she looked she saw a threat to her and her daughter, and she felt that she couldn't trust anybody. Her world was caving in on her.

* * *

******Several weeks passed **and finally Dr. Tenma's work load decreased somewhat. The IOS had finally hired several new engineers that would relieve Uma from the more mundane tasks so he could concentrate on the actual design work. With some real free time on his hands, he put in a few hours here and there working on the Cobalt robot that he and Tobio had designed. What was more important however, was that he now was able to see his son at bedtime, and again each morning before the boy left for school.

Tobio no longer kept a vigil each night waiting for his dad before being put to bed by Nora. He no longer cried himself to sleep either, and his loving father would tuck him in to bed and read him a bedtime story. Both father and son were in much better moods, and both were getting more sleep every night.

******In a few weeks****, **Tobio would be on his mid semester break at school. Uma hoped to have at least one surprise for him, maybe two if he was lucky. Finally one weekend he had one of those surprises ready for his the boy.

"I have to go into work today for a little bit," Dr. Tenma told his son.

"Aw, Tomorrow's Saturday, I thought we could be together. Do you really have to?" Tobio whined.

"Yes, I'm afraid so son, but I'm going to need your help." Uma laughed.

Tobio looked confused for a second, then his face brightened.

"We're going to work on Cobalt, aren't we?" He squealed.

"We sure are!" his father said, patting his son on the head.

Tobio leaped into his father's arms and gave him a hug. The boy had been hungry for that bit of bonding and his face broke into a wide smile. Nora watched from across the room. Her programing hadn't detected such a level of happiness in the boy for many weeks, and she registered a warm feeling in her circuits.

* * *

**Tobio's face** beamed with excitement as he carefully examined the robot lying on the operating table. Cobalt was a bit taller than he was, though he looked thin and wimpy.  
"His body will look more natural when it's powered up." His father explained. "Without power this type of robot goes limp and takes on the look of a doll with the stuffing falling out. If you touch him, you can see that his outer skin is pliable like yours. He doesn't have a stiff outer framework like Nora and other service 'bots."

Tobio felt Cobalt's arms and legs. He then placed his hand on the robot's chest.

"That's the one spot where he is a bit solid. He doesn't have a rib cage like a human, his torso is a solid frame underneath his skin to support all of his inner mechanisms." Dr. Tenma explained.

"How long before we can power him up?" Tobio asked.

"Actually, we can do that right now. I've finished all of the work on his body, what remains now is to power him up and load his AI into his brain."

Tobio watched as his father opened Cobalt's chest panel and connected several heavy cables. He attached additional cables to sockets in the robots head and waist. Dr. Tenma motioned for Tobio to stand back. The two of them retreated to the back of the laboratory where the power control station was located.  
"It will take quite a heavy charge of power to activate him for the first time. His nuclear power plant needs to self generate before it can start the initial fusion reaction. After that, he'll need periodic refueling, but his normal power requirements will allow him to go long periods between refueling, unless he has to do something very taxing." Uma explained.

After the switch was thrown on the laboratories control panel a loud hum emanated from Cobalt's body. Dr. Tenma cranked up the juice and the hum became a loud buzz, and then a screaming roar. The robot began to glow with a brilliant light as his body began to absorb the energy. There was a loud crack, and then everything became quiet. Dr. Tenma looked at the readings on the control panel and smiled.  
"He's powered up. Now I have to download his AI. That should take about an hour or so, why don't we go get ourselves some lunch?"

After they returned from a quick meal at the IOS cafeteria, the download of Cobalt's AI was nearly complete.  
"I'll attempt to bring him to consciousness now." Tenma told his son. "This will require a bit more energy."

Uma went back to the laboratories power control panel and activated the power feed. Cobalt lay still on the operating table for a few minutes and then slowly opened is eyes. The robot raised his head slightly and then tried to sit up. As he did so, the cables attached to his waist and head fell off and hung from the ceiling.

"Cobalt!" Tobio cried out as he approached the operating table. He held his arm out and the robot took it, using Tobio to support his effort to sit up.  
"Try to stand up, Cobalt," Tobio said. He held out both hands and grabbed the robots arms. Cobalt swung his legs around and hopped off the table, depending on Tobio to help him balance.  
"I'm your brother, Tobio." He told the robot.

"Tobio." Cobalt muttered, pointing at the boy.  
"I'm Cobalt." he said pointing a finger at himself.

"Yes!" Tobio smiled.

Cobalt took a few wobbly steps by himself. He gradually became more sure footed. His facial expression, which at first was a complete blank, now appeared to be one of a self aware being.

"Can we take him home?" Tobio asked.

"I'm going to need to connect Cobalt back to the computer and run a systems check on him. If everything appears normal, we'll take him home and let Nora check him out." His father promised.

The boy sat on one of the work benches while his father hooked the robot up to the computer and started to examine him. Uma looked at the happy face on his son. He hoped that the robot would serve as a substitute sibling until his daughter could be returned to them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Prequel**

___Note: Astro Boy is the property of Tezuka Productions._

_**Part Five**_

**Hoshie** couldn't believe her luck, the back door to the Tezuka Elementary school had been left open. Perhaps it was normal for the doors to be unlocked 15 minutes before the school let out, but in any event she made use of the lesser used entrance to get inside the building without being seen by her husband's private dick. She took the first staircase she found up to the third floor where Urania's classroom was located and waited by the door for the bell to ring.

**Shunsaku Ban** waited by the main exit of the school building for the students to march out. He knew that the lower grades used the main exit of the building, and that Urania Tenma would have to pass this way. He glanced out the window at the line of parents in the school yard waiting to pick up their kids, Hoshie wasn't yet among them. That was strange, he had been tailing them for a few weeks and she was usually one of the first parents to arrive. He took a second more careful look, perhaps she had adopted a disguise? Well it really didn't matter, he'd grab the girl and sneak her out one of the side exits where he'd left his car parked.

**Hoshie** heard the sound of the three o'clock bell and she opened the door to her daughter's class room. She walked over to Urania's desk and helped her close up her backpack and get it over her shoulders. The two of them left the classroom surrounded by a sea of students and walked quickly to the staircase. She had picked the right set of stairs, they found themselves at the rear exit to the building and they quickly left.

**Mustachio** watched the line of youngsters heading for the door. The teachers escorted their charges in orderly lines, trying to keep the kids from running. It was a mob scene at first, and then the crowd thinned out. Finally just a trickle of slower kids, probably those 'latch key kids' whose parents worked and were not in any hurry to come home to an empty house, or an older sibling. Urania hadn't appeared. He had seen her arrive in the morning, did she leave early, sick? His eyes focused at the far end of the hallway, the exit door to the back side of the building was barely visible from where he stood. A woman and child had just walked out the door. Shunsaku Ban ran toward the door and went out the back of the building. He looked right and left but Hoshie had disappeared.

* * *

**Cobalt's **first day at the Tenma's house was a bit trying for all involved. The first problem was as to where he would spend the night. Tobio insisted that his AI include a sleep cycle, he wanted the robot to be as human as possible, he wanted a brother. Dr. Tenma suggested that Cobalt could sleep in Urania's room, at least until other arrangements could be made. Tobio broke out into a fit over that suggestion.

"That would be like an invasion of her privacy!" he yelled. "Cobalt can sleep with me, my bed is large enough for two!" Tobio suggested.

Dr. Tenma didn't like that idea at all, but his son had already seemed to have developed a close bond to his robot sibling.

"I'm going to order a bunk bed for your room to replace the one you have now. Then the two of you will be more comfortable." Uma suggested.  
"I'm OK with that." Tobio said.

Early the next morning Nora found the two boys in the kitchen. Tobio was showing Cobalt how to make toast. He had burned up a half a loaf of bread getting the toaster's setting right, and the floor was covered with toast crumbs. Nora was busy vacuuming up the mess.

By the time Dr. Tenma had made it into the kitchen things were in better order. Cobalt was sitting at the table spreading butter and jam on his toast. He kept dropping the knife onto the floor, and would pick it up and start all over again. Tobio had finished eating his toast and was now having some tea. Both of the brothers were still in their pajamas. Tobio clearly hadn't showered, his two prominent cowlicks were sticking out all over the place instead of being neatly combed and gelled into two neat cone shapes.

"If you're finished with breakfast, go upstairs and groom yourself Tobio!" Uma said. "You look like a mess!"

"OK dad" Tobio replied. He started to climb the stairs, Cobalt turned to follow.

"Stay downstairs for a while, Cobalt" Dr. Tenma said. The robot turned and pointed to himself with a questioning look on his face.

"I want to talk to you, Cobalt" Tenma said.

Cobalt nodded his head and walked back into the kitchen. He sat down at the table and folded his hands together in front of him.

"Can you talk, son? I haven't heard you say a word since we came home last night." Tenma asked the robot.

"Yes." Cobalt replied.

"How do you feel?" Uma asked.

Cobalt rolled his eyes back and forth and looked down at his hands on the table. Then he looked up and made eye contact with Dr. Tenma.

"I feel new, I guess. Like I just work up from a long sleep and I don't remember who I am." Cobalt answered.

Now that was an original response. Tenma realized that when they had created Cobalt's AI, they didn't give him any memories. Perhaps they should have made something up, even if it was just a vague recollection. They had left him with a totally blank slate, Cobalt had come into existence like a new born baby, but even babies have some memory of the womb when they come into the world.

"Well I guess we are going to have to start making you some new memories, Cobalt. Hopefully happy ones at that. Tobio and I will help you with that."

Cobalt smiled and leaned back in his chair. He didn't realize what he was doing, and leaned back too far. The chair fell over with him in it hitting the floor. On the way down his legs hit the table and kicked it into the air. The kitchen table flipped over spilling half a cup of tea and assorted silverware onto the floor. Dr. Tenma was knocked out of his chair and the table caught him in the shin on the way down.

"Ouch!" Uma yelled rubbing his lower leg which now had the beginnings of a black and blue mark.

Cobalt slowly picked himself up. He tried to right the table, but only managed to bump his head into Uma's as the Doctor had also bent down for the same purpose.  
"Sorry Sir." Cobalt said.

Tenma bit his lip to keep from yelling at the robot.  
"I see we are going to have to adjust your coordination as well." He said. "Why don't you go upstairs and ask Tobio to select some clothes for you when he gets out of the shower?" Tenma said.

Cobalt turned and walked toward the stairs. He went up to the bedroom, and sat down on the edge of the bed. The water was still running in the shower. Cobalt waited for Tobio to exit the bathroom.

* * *

**The next day **Shunsaku Ban decided that he'd have to take the gloves off and make use of a more direct approach. He had the legal papers that authorized him to take custody of Urania on behalf of Dr. Tenma, who had been granted legal custody of his daughter. About an hour before school was to let out for the day he entered the Principal's office and presented him with his credentials, and the legal papers.  
"I have a court order to take custody of one Urania Tenma" he said.

The Principal brought up the school roster on his computer.  
"We don't seem to have a student by that name." He said.

Mustachio handed him a photograph. "She may be registered under another name."

"Yes, that would be Urania Yangasawa." He said. "The photo matches our records. I guess that if her mother is on the run she would have used a false name." He looked over the legal papers again.  
"This looks like it's all in order" the school official told him. "I'll escort you to the classroom and you may release her from class early."

They arrived at Urania's classroom before Hoshie had made her appearance. The Principal introduced the detective to the child.  
"Hello Urania." Mustachio smiled. "I've come to take you home, to your father."

Urania's face showed no emotion to the remark. She quietly gathered her things and stood up. Mustachio took her hand and led her toward the staircase.  
"Your father and brother have missed you very much, child." He said. "My car is parked at the end of the block. I'll take you to my house first and then we'll call Dr. Tenma and give him the good news." The detective said in a pleasant voice. They left the building and started down the street to where Shunsaku Ban had parked his car.

Urania looked up at the detective and almost broke into a smile, but she suddenly took on a fearful look. Her eyes focused behind Mustachio, who almost got the warning in time. Before he could turn around he felt a powerful blow land on the top of his head. He would later regain consciousness sitting on the side walk next to the curb with a splitting headache and painful lump the size of a golf ball on the top of his head.

**Hoshie** dropped the fire extinguisher after clubbing the detective over the head with it. She had grabbed it from the hallway just before running out of the school building in hot pursuit of her daughter. She grabbed Urania by the hand and ran after a bus, barely getting on board before the doors closed and the transport left for its next stop.

* * *

**Dr. Tenma** hung up the phone and sighed. Shunsaku Ban's call with the bad news about Urania was the last chapter to a bad day. It was unlikely that Hoshie would bring Urania back to school, not after she had run into Mustachio. She might even make a run for it and leave the city. Uma hoped that Mustachio had a plan B.

Earlier, his examination of Cobalt hadn't gone well. He had tried several times to fix the robot's coordination, but his neural systems were flawed, the result of trying to put a too advanced AI system into an available electronic brain. It would take a lot of work to retro-fit a proper computer brain into the robot, assuming that one could be found. More likely he'd have to engineer one from scratch, something he didn't have time to do at the moment. Uma dreaded having to tell Tobio that Cobalt would have to be scrapped. Maybe the boy wouldn't notice his brother's defects and would accept him as he was.

* * *

******Tobio** was totally blind to his robot brother's faults. The two of them were becoming like real brothers and they enjoyed each other's company. Cobalt seemed to fill a void in Tobio's life when his father couldn't be at home. Maybe Cobalt was extra careful around the boy, for there did seem to be far less damage caused by the robot's clumsiness when Tobio was around.

One Sunday morning while Tobio and his father were eating breakfast, Tobio noticed that Cobalt was missing.  
"Cobalt, brother Cobalt, where are you?" Tobio cried out.

Suddenly there was a crash outside, father and son ran out the front door to see what had happened. There was Cobalt lying spread Eagle on the roof of Dr. Tema's car. He had climbed out of the window of the third story bedroom he shared with Tobio, to gain access to the tree in front of the house. Still sitting calmly in the top of the tree was a mangy old tomcat that Cobalt apparently had tried to reach. The robot didn't realize that the bough that he had climbed onto would not support his weight, and he had fallen some thirty feet and crashed onto the top of the car, smashing the windshield.

"That's the last straw!" Uma sighed. "Cobalt is defective, we are going to have to dismantle him!"

"No!" Tobio yelled. "Not my brother Cobalt! I won't let you!"

"Look son, I've tried to make every kind of adjustment on him, both to his control circuits and his AI. He has too much free will, and not enough common sense. His computer brain lacks coordination, and he is clumsy. Right now Cobalt is on the verge of being dangerous. He's got to go back to the Institute."

"Don't scrap him Dad, please!" Tobio was almost in tears. "I'll fix him myself!"

Dr. Tenma saw that his son was almost hysterical and he tried to calm him down.  
"Look son, maybe some day you will become an engineer like your dad and you'll be an expert on robots. But right now there is little you could do to help Cobalt, and I don't have the time to work anymore on him."

"Well, could you just power him down and save him for me without taking him apart?" Tobio sobbed.

His father quickly decided that perhaps, that was a good compromise.  
"OK, I'll put Cobalt into the sub-basement storage at the Institute. Someday when you are older and have learned about robot science you can get him out of storage and work on him. OK?"

Tobio hugged his father.  
"Thank you Dad. I'm going to learn all about robot engineering in school, and then I'm going to fix up Cobalt, you'll see!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Prequel**

**Part Six**

**Shunsaku Ban **opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing in extreme pain and he saw stars before his eyes. When he touched the back of his head, his hand came back covered with blood.  
"Damn Bitch!" he muttered under his breath.

"Don't move, I've called for an ambulance."

Mustachio looked up to see a man wearing the uniform of a policeman assigned to the school, standing over him.  
"Now you show up!" he muttered. He tried to get up, but the policeman insisted that he sit quietly and wait for the paramedics to show up. He heard the distant sound of a siren and gave in. In a few minutes two young doctors were suturing the gash in his scalp, and giving him a shot of antibiotics.

The elder of the two looked to be in her mid thirties. She wore thick framed glasses that complemented her complexion and auburn hair. The younger doctor appeared to be in his late twenties, though he looked older, as his face had massive scars from skin graft surgery. Half of his full head of hair had turned white, perhaps from the shock that he must have been though to have sustained such injuries.

"Can I get up now?" the detective demanded.

"You really should go to the hospital and get checked out." The younger doctor insisted. "You very well may have sustained a concussion."

"Nonsense!" Shunsaku Ban yelled. "My skull is harder than a rock. This ain't the first time someone clubbed me into dreamland. It's a risk that comes with the occupation."

The two paramedics helped Mustachio to his feet. The younger one shined a flashlight into his eyes, one at a time. Satisfied with his reaction to the light, he released his grip on the man's shoulder.  
"I don't see any indication of obvious trauma, but I still think you should have an extensive exam and be under observation overnight." He said.

"Thanks." Mustachio said. "I'll think about it."

As the ambulance drove away, the detective hunted in his pockets for his cellphone. Having located it he hit the speed dial for Inspector Tawashi and waited for several rings until the police inspector answered his phone.

"What can I do for you Mr. Mustachio?" Tawashi asked.

"Maybe add armed and dangerous to the APB for Hoshie Tenma." He moaned. "She just cold conked me with a stolen fire extinguisher. I don't know how long I was out cold, lying on the sidewalk in front of the elementary school."

"She's beginning to sound like a tough little cookie, and maybe a bit of a nut job." the police inspector said. "I can't promise you anything, but I will have her picture posted at all of the police stations in the district under my authority. Maybe we'll get lucky. I'm going to be out in the field on another case nearby. I'll keep my eyes open as well."

"Thanks Tawashi." Shunsaku Ban said. "I may owe you one."

"You already owe me about twenty, but I'm not counting." Tawashi said. "We go back a ways, the two of us. Don't worry about it, but be careful, you old coot!" He said, hanging up the phone.

Mustachio made one more call. He phoned Dr. Tenma and gave him the bad news. He felt like a fool.

* * *

**Tobio **stomped his feet loudly down the stairs, kicking his father's briefcase as he went. Halfway down the steps where the stairs turned to face into the kitchen he gave the case a final hard kick, sending it flying. The luggage smashed into the kitchen table propelling a full cup of steaming hot tea into his father's face.

Dr. Tenma jumped back out of his chair in pain. He ran over to the sink, turning the cold water on full blast to splash his scalded face.  
"Damn you! What the hell is wrong with you Tobio!" He yelled.

"Murderer!" The boy screamed. "Killer! I HATE YOU!"

Uma grabbed a dish towel to dry himself. Still feeling the burn, he opened the door to the freezer, grabbed a handful ice cubes, and dropped them into the towel. He held the damp cloth against his face as a cold compress, still trying to relieve the pain.  
"What are you talking about! Who the hell am I have supposed to have killed?"

"I saw you! Last night when you thought I was sleeping you took my brother Cobalt apart! You had his head on the table while you were pulling his legs off his body. You promised me you'd just power him down and store him away safe. Now I know you wanted to throw him away all along! DAMN YOU and GO TO HELL!" Tobio cursed as he ran out the front door.

Dr. Tenma ran after the boy, still holding the dish towel against his scalded skin. He caught up to his son and grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Will you please calm down! Cobalt is quite alright. I had to partially take him apart only to fit him into a smaller box. There wasn't enough room in the storage area to house him upright. Believe me, I didn't do any permanent damage to him." Uma pleaded with the boy.

Tobio calmed down slightly, but his face was still twisted into a mad scowl.  
"Are you sure? You're not lying to me are you?"

"Of course not son. Look I know it must have been very upsetting to you to see him like that. I should have explained what had to be done first." Uma sighed.

"Well, OK. I guess I understand. Can you forgive me for what I just did?" Tobio said quietly.

"I'll need to look in the mirror first." Uma laughed. "I don't think you've managed to disfigure me though."

Dr. Tenma offered his hand to his son who took it. They walked slowly back to the house without saying another word to each other. Tobio kicked a few rocks along the way before they turned back up the walkway and through the front door.

* * *

**Hoshie **realized too late that she had boarded the wrong bus. Instead of taking her in the direction of her apartment, this one meandered through the neighborhood of her husband's house. Urania fidgeted against her mother's grip on her hand, while looking out the window of the crowded bus. She recognized the neighborhood and a wave of homesickness rolled over her. The bus rolled to a stop and a good part of the crowd pressed by Hoshie and Urania heading toward the doorway. Urania broke free from her mother's grip and ran toward the bus exit. Hoshie turned to catch her but there were several large people between them heading for the door. Urania got off the bus and looked around. She thought she recognized the way back to her father's house and started to run in that direction. Hoshie finally managed to get off the bus just as the doors started to close behind her. Urania already had about a two block lead on her mother. She looked over her shoulder to see Hoshie running after her, screaming for her to stop.

Inspector Tawashi's patrol car turned the corner and passed the bus stop. Up ahead he saw Hoshie running across the street as best as she could in her high heel shoes. He swung the car into a tight U turn, nearly crashing into a truck going the other way. Hoshie turned the corner and darted into a narrow street. The inspector turned his car to follow and was immediately stuck in the grid lock caused by parked trucks on both sides of the road. Tawashi abandoned his vehicle on the side of the street and took off on foot. He punched up the speed dial on his cellphone as he ran, to call for backup.

Urania was running between cars, weaving in and out trying to make it to the end of the block. She could hear her mother's footsteps getting closer. Not sure if she had gone the right way to reach her old house, she now found herself on the edge of a busy wide street. Running down the middle of the road was the double track main line of a commuter street rail line. The tracks were set into the roadway, dividing the street in the middle between the two directions of traffic. Hanging over the tracks were two electric wires that powered the trains. About a block away she could see the headlight of an approaching railway vehicle. Urania's brain tried to figure out if she had time to cross the street. She watched for oncoming cars and waited until it looked like she could dart out ahead of them. Hoshie had almost caught up and was yelling for her to stop. Urania broke into a run to cross the street, causing the driver of a red sports car to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting her. She started to cross the railroad tracks less than a hundred feet in front of an accelerating train.

Tawashi ran as fast as he could, panting hard as his lungs fought for air. He realized that he was clearly not in the kind of shape that he had been in when he first joined the police force. He could see Hoshie just ahead of him running across the busy street that he was approaching, Urania was only a few steps ahead of her.

Urania's left foot landed right in the middle of a track switch point. She had attempted to cross the street right where the railway tracks divided to allow one line to take an alternate route. Her shoe got stuck in the movable part of the track and she fell to the ground. The driver of the train saw her and quickly yanked on the air horn while applying the air brakes. He threw the throttle into full reverse and applied dynamic breaking. The four cars behind the operator cab lunged into submission and there was a loud squealing sound as the machine tried to throw away its inertia. Sparks flew from the trains brake shoes. Hoshie reached her daughter and saw the danger. She pulled at the girls leg, trying to free her foot from the shoe that was jammed tight into the track. Hoshie stared at the oncoming train in defiance as her maternal instincts would not let her abandon her child.

Tawashi watched in horror. He tried to run faster but his heart was beating so fast that he felt like it would burst. His chest was burning, his mouth was dry and his ears were ringing like church bells from the blood surging though his veins. Things seemed to happen in slow motion. By the time he reached the tracks, mother and child were gone. Tawashi stood there for a few seconds and then puked his guts up.

* * *

**Tobio's **eighth birthday was the worst day of his life. He stood beside his father crying as the caskets of his mother and sister were lowered into the ground. Uma tired to comfort his son, but he felt just as awful himself. Shunsaku Ban stood two rows behind the Tenmas along side of Inspector Tawashi. The bump on his head was still throbbing, but the pain he felt in his heart was much worse than the pain from his head wound.

Tenma had received the news while he was at work. Tobio had been in school, happily anticipating his upcoming birthday. Mustachio had been optimistic about finally finding his mother and sister, and he was hoping Urania would be at his birthday party. Tawashi came down to the Institute of Science in person to deliver the bad news to Uma. He felt partly responsible for what had happened. Uma just stood there in shock for several minutes, before he grabbed his hat and coat to walk out of the building. Dr. Tenma drove over to Tobio's school, marched into his son's classroom, and took the boy home. After Uma had informed his son about the tragedy, Tobio angrily pounded his fists against his father's chest while crying his eyes out. Uma just stood there taking his son's abuse until the boy's anger was finally spent.

After the funeral was over, there was a constant stream of visitors passing though the Tenma house. All of them offered their sympathies and expressed their sorrow for Uma and Tobio's loss. Some of the well wishers left platters of food as a comfort gesture. Tobio picked at some of the cookies that had been left on the dining room table, but his heart was in his feet. He spent most of his time lying face down in his bed crying, or staring out the window where Cobalt had tried to rescue a cat from a tree.

The boy found his journal – scrapbook and wrote the saddest entry that he would ever compose. When he was finished the ink had badly smeared from his tears. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked up at the top berth that had very briefly belonged to his 'brother' Cobalt. This only made him even sadder and he buried his face in the pillow again to cry. Outside, his father's car was missing. Uma's best medicine for his own grief was to bury himself in his work, so he left his son alone with the robot Nanny, Nora.

Nora's limited kokoro allowed her to only partly empathize with Tobio's grief. She came up to his room and gently stroked his back while he lay face down in the bed, sobbing. She tried singing him a lullaby, but the melody she picked only made Tobio feel worse.  
"Nora, please leave me alone!" he finally cried out.

When the Nanny robot hesitated in leaving, Tobio picked up his tool kit box and heaved it at her. The metal box bounced off the robot, leaving a small dent in her chassis. Nora glided out of the room and closed the door behind her. She set an internal timer to remind her to return in twenty minutes and check back in on the boy. That was the usual amount of time that his tantrums lasted.

_A.N. I'm sorry, that this part wasn't very happy. It HAD to be this way, I can't change history, or the official canon that this story fits into._


	7. Chapter 7

**Prequel**

**Part Seven**

**Dr Tenma** alternated between fits of rage and grief. The floor around his desk was littered with crumbled up scraps of paper, broken pencils, and dried up pens. Quite a few expendable objects had been hurled into the walls which now resembled the surface of the moon. Outside, in the hallway near the door to his office, other engineers tip toed past to avoid being detected by their supervisor. Only one man had the courage to knock on the door.

Dr. Ochanomizu carefully pushed the office door open after knocking several times without any answer. Uma looked up, noticed his visitor, and motioned for him to come closer. Dr. Tenma's eyes were red, and Ochanomizu could notice the stains of tears on his face. There was a pile of spent tissues on the desk next to the drafting board that Uma had been working on.

"Are you quite alright Uma?" His colleague asked. "Maybe you should be at home with your son?"

Dr. Tenma sucked in his emotions, and stood up to face his visitor.

"Thanks for your concern. I thought that I could drown my sorrows in my work, but it doesn't seem to effective. I can't think straight. I tried doing my drafting on the computer, but it felt too distant. So I resorted to the old fashioned paper and pencil, but the ideas just don't flow very well that way either." He pointed to the mess on the floor.

"You really need the time to grieve, and so does your son. He needs you Uma."

"He misses his sister more than his mother, if you can believe that. I can't think of a day the two of them didn't spend together before Hoshie ran off with Urania. You know he cursed at his mother more than he missed her? They weren't twins, but they were like two peas in a pod. I wish I had given more attention to Urania, maybe if I had …." Uma's voice trailed off.

Dr. Ochanomizu looked down at the partly completed design draft that Dr. Tenma has been working on. It was for a small female android robot. He could see that it would resemble the deceased child. Tenma saw where his colleague's eyes were focused and replied.

"My first attempt at building a child like robot with kokoro didn't work very well. It was to be a brother for Tobio. Its systems were too clumsy and it was on the verge of being dangerous. I had to deactivate it before it could cause an accident. I put it down in the sub basement storage area for now. This robot," He pointed to the draft board, "Is based on what I learned from the first attempt. If I can complete it, it will be a replacement for Urania. Maybe having his sister back again in some form would cheer my son up."

Ochanomizu patted Uma on the shoulder.  
"Don't work too late Uma. Go home and spend some time with your son. That will be the best therapy for both of you."

Dr. Ochanomizu slowly closed the door behind him. Tenma continued to sketch on the drafting table. He did some calculations and jotted down a few notes. Finally, he rolled up the sheets of paper that he had been working on, stuffed them into a tube, and put that into his filing cabinet. Uma grabbed another tissue, blew his nose and wiped his eyes. He went to the computer and scanned though several pages in the robot catalog, and then shut the machine down. He grabbed his hat and coat and headed out the door for home.

* * *

**Tobio** had locked himself up in his room all day. He wouldn't come down to eat any lunch, despite Nora's pleading. The Nanny robot tried to bring some food up to the boy, but Tobio had barred the door shut by wedging a chair under the doorknob. Nora tried to call Dr. Tenma at his office, but he had locked the phone into forwarding to his answering machine. Caught between her programming to care for the boy, and not being able to compute any solution to the problem, she found herself in a loop and had effectively shut down. Such was the state of affairs when Dr. Tenma finally arrived home.

"**Nora!** What's going on here?" Tenma cried. He found the Nanny robot standing outside of Tobio's room. Uma knocked on the door, but got no response.  
"Tobio! Open this door now!" he yelled. Still no response. Uma started to panic. He remembered there being a sledge hammer in the garage toolbox and he turned to run downstairs to fetch it with the idea of bashing the lock in on his son's door. Before he made it more than a few steps, he heard the sound of the lock turning and the door creaking open. Tobio stood in the doorway. He was naked except for a pair of black briefs and red socks. His eyes were very red from crying and his nose was running. It was clear to Uma that his son hadn't got out of bed all day, having started to dress himself, only to give up and return to lie down and cry. Nora still stood there, frozen. Dr. Tenma decided that there must be a flaw with her programming, and that maybe it was time to replace her with a newer model, as he had been thinking of doing earlier.

"Tobio, come here" Uma said, his arms wide open to receive the boy.

Tobio walked slowly toward his father, then broke into a run. He grabbed Uma around his waist and buried his face into his father's chest. Uma could feel the boy sobbing. He picked him up and carried him down the stairs to the kitchen. He sat Tobio down in a chair facing the table.

Uma looked in the refrigerator and found two portions of cold sushi saved from one of the platers that had been brought over by their guests after the funeral. He set them on the table where Tobio was now sitting.

"We both need to eat something, son." He said. "I know food will take my mind off of my troubles, at least for a little while. Look, it's your favorite comfort food."

He pushed one of the plates toward his son, and handed him a pair of chopsticks. Tobio just starred at the food, sniffling. Uma handed the boy a tissue, and he blew his nose. Uma picked up his own pair of chopsticks and slowly began to eat his own portion of food. Tobio watched for a few minutes, and then began to mimic his father. Silently the two of them ate the prepared raw fish, wrapped in rice and seaweed.

* * *

**The next day** Dr. Tenma drove to the Institute of Science, with Tobio. Nora, the robot nanny was in the back seat, deactivated.  
"What's wrong with Nora?" Tobio asked.

"She seems to have developed a serious defect. Yesterday, while you locked yourself in your room, Nora's programming froze up. She couldn't figure out how to resolve the issue. I'll admit, my having my office phone unavailable at that moment didn't help matters any." Uma explained to his son.

"So you are going to fix her?" Tobio perked up.

"No, I don't think so." His father replied. "Nora is an older model robot. There are now several models more advanced than her, and it wouldn't make any sense to repair her. I'm going to put her in the recycle storage area, and we'll replace her with a newer, better model. I think you will find the latest Nanny robots quite wonderful. It will be your task to help select our new one."

"I don't want a new robot. I want Nora repaired!" Tobio cried. "She was like a grandmother to me, and you don't replace grandmothers!"

"We'll see." Dr. Tenma responded. "Why don't you keep your opinions in reserve until we go through the robot show place at the Institute?"

Tobio just crossed his arms and put a scowl on his face. They drove the rest of the way to the Institute of Science in silence.

**Dr. Tenma **unlocked the door to his office and motioned for his son to enter. Uma opened the filing cabinet and removed the tube containing the design drawings he had been working on the previous day. He unrolled the sheets of paper and lay them on the drafting table.  
"Tobio, see what I've been working on." Uma said pointing to the table.

Tobio walked over and looked at his father's work.  
"That looks like a robot version of Urania." He said. "Why did you do this?"

"Cobalt hadn't turned out too well, and I thought I'd start off with a fresh sheet of paper. I thought maybe I could build a robot that would be like a sister for you." Uma smiled.

"No!" Tobio said. "You don't understand. Urania was a real living person. She was like a part of me, and we both were part of you and mommy. You can't replace that with a robot! Cobalt was different, he was like a step brother, or an adopted one."

"OK, I think I understand." Uma said as he rolled up the plans and replaced them in the tube. Uma hated to admit it, but his son was wiser than his years. He put the tube back in the filing cabinet and locked it.

"Let's go to the robot factory floor and look at Nanny robots." Uma suggested, taking his son's hand in his own.

Tobio pulled his hand back from his father's grip.  
"I told you, I want you to repair Nora. I don't want to look at new robots." the boy insisted.

"Can't you humor you father for once?" Uma asked. "Many of the robot's I wanted you to look at were my own designs. At least give them a chance."

Tobio shuffled his feet back and forth on the floor, while standing in place.  
"I'll look at your robots, but I still want Nora." He replied. Tobio followed his father out of the office, and they walked side by side though the buildings of the Institute, heading for the robot factory section.

**Uma **led Tobio through the factory floor and pointed out the various new models of robots intended for family service. All of them were more human looking than Nora, and they were all pleasing to the eye to look at. Uma couldn't understand why his son was so insistent on keeping Nora. Yet Tobio found fault with all of the robots that he saw.

"Now can we leave the factory, and have Nora repaired?" Tobio said, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry son. Nora has already been delivered to the recycling center. By now she has been started to be prepared for disassembly. I told you she was too out of date to repair properly. I've already selected a replacement for her. Since you didn't make your own choice in the factory, I've selected the most appropriate one for us. It will be delivered as soon as we get home today." His father said.

Tobio gave his father a look that could melt steel, but he said nothing. All the rest of the day he ignored his father. They rode home in silence. As soon as they returned to their house, Tobio marched up the stairs, slammed the door shut to his room, and bared the door with a chair. Uma knocked on his door several times but got no answer from the angry boy.

"If you don't come downstairs for dinner, you will have to go without!" Dr. Tenma yelled though the closed door. He got no response. Putting his ear to the door, he could hear Tobio whimpering softly in bed. Uma decided to let the boy get over it on his own. He'd deal with him for sure in the morning if necessary.

Shortly after Tobio locked himself upstairs in his room, the delivery truck from the Institute showed up with the robot that Uma had ordered. It actually resembled Nora slightly, being less humanoid than most of the models that he had showed his son a few hours ago. Dr. Tenma had figured that if he replaced Nora with something only slightly different in appearance, but with better systems, the boy would more quickly accept it. He looked at the new robot, and hoped that he was correct. Uma spent the rest of the evening adjusting and configuring the new Nanny robot's systems. He would fully activate it in the morning, and try and introduce it to his son.

* * *

**As soon as **he had bared the door to his room Tobio got to work. He made a recording on his computer of himself crying, and set it up to playback in an endless loop. He set the volume loud enough to be heard just outside his room, and laid the computer speakers on top of the pillow on his bed. With any luck his father would think he was still in the room.

Tobio grabbed a few changes of clothes from his dresser and closet, and wrapped them up in a clean bed sheet. He knotted the bundle closed and tied it to his belt. He then climbed out of the window and jumped into the tree. He manged to grab hold of the trunk and climb safely down to the street level. He then snuck around to the garage where his bicycle was stored. He put his bundle into the basket mounted above the rear wheel. Tobio wasn't totally sure of the way to Tamao's house, but he knew the address, and after a few wrong turns he pulled up into his friends driveway. He parked his bicycle on Tamao's front porch and banged on the front door.

Mr. Ume opened the door. Upon seeing Tobio standing there he turned and yelled into the house.  
"Tamao, one of your friends from school is here!"

Tamao came downstairs from his room. "Hey Tobio, what's up? I heard about your Mom and your Sister, I'm really sorry for you." he said.

"My dad, just doesn't get it." Tobio told him. "Sometimes I think he likes robots more than people. He doesn't even care much about robots either, I mean to him they are just machines that can become obsolete and get replaced. Our robot Nora wasn't the most advanced, and when she had a problem my dad just wanted to replace her instead of fixing her. She's been like a grandmother to me after my mom ran away and dad was busy at work. I kinda got used to her, but dad just scrapped her. I guess I must have snapped, I had to run away. Can I stay here for a while, Tamao?" Toby sighed.

"I don't know, Tobio, that would be up to my parents. I think you can stay for dinner though, my mom usually lets me invite friends over for dinner." Tamao said.

Mrs. Ume stuck her head into the hallway. "Hi, Tobio. Would you like to stay for dinner?" She asked.

"Gee, Mom, How did you know?" Tamao asked.

"I overheard your two talking. Tobio, if you'd like to stay the night, you're welcome, but I'm going to have to call your father and let him know you are here."

Tobio bowed his head. "Sure, I guess so, though I bet my dad wouldn't notice I'm gone till the morning. I kinda took care of that."

"OK, then. You two wash up for dinner. I'll call Dr. Tenma and let him know you're here with us."


End file.
